Total transactions represent the number of gifts and grants processed annually (including supporting organizations). The average transaction size represents the total dollar value of gifts plus the total dollar value of grants divided by the total number of transactions.

Gifts per capita is calculated by dividing the foundation’s total gifts (including supporting organizations) by the population of the foundation’s service area. The service area is defined by each community foundation.

The distribution rate is calculated by dividing the foundation’s total grants by total assets (including supporting organizations) at the end of the foundation’s fiscal year. The percentage of total assets in donor-advised funds (Percent Total Assets DAF) is the total amount of IRS-classified donor-advised funds divided by total foundation assets.

The following is a list of Annual Survey participants sorted by asset size, supplemented by publicly available information where available.

Over two-thirds of responding community foundations carried an operating surplus at the end of FY24. Community foundations rely mainly on administrative fees as their main source of revenue, with other income sources helping to cover operating costs, and unrestricted funds making up for any remaining shortfall. Relying on unrestricted funds for that purpose, however, may have an impact on the extent to which a community foundation can invest in community leadership or other mission-driven initiatives. (n=230)

80% of responding community foundations (n=165) grew their operating budgets over the previous year. Across nearly all asset size cohorts, close to two-thirds of the average community foundation’s operating budget go toward its staff (n=184).